Anyone remember these things? I know they were used on Bell trucks at least up into the early 60's. After a couple of searches this is the only pic I could come up with. Anyone have access to the dimentions? I'd like to try and find one for my project if it came anything close to fitting. There must still be a few out there somewhere. Any additional pix would be great! Junkers... what have you?
here are some pictures i stole from google... there seemed to be plenty of pictures when i searched for "telephone truck" but i didn't see any pages with any substantial info. good luck with your quest.
Try anderson salvage in evans, colorado. They specialize in trucks, and it's amazing what they have. Be prepared though-they are not cheap!
Saw one go on ebay a few years ago thought it was too cool but as usual I was too broke. I think it was a 55 or 56 F100. It'd make an awesome work truck.
There was a junk yard that we passed every weekend back in the early 60s that had about 20 of them. They were on 53-56 F-100 chassis. C&P Telephone.
There was one running around here,,old Bell Tel . truck still has it paint 48 49 Ford I think it is Sloped box
Thanks for the replys. I knew a guy who bought a pair of Fords (61/62?) surplus. In his estimation they were worthless for any thing except the phone company and he tossed'em. I thought they has a style point or two, with the sloped back. I do need to carry a bit of equipment around, so a lockable bed is something I'v been pondering. My first idea of using an old round top frige, besides being laughed out of existance, was just too narrow and looked out of scale. I'll probably end up going with conventional bed sides and a locking lid.
I'm a telephone man myself, and have always wanted to build one of these for my daily driver. Have seen a few around, they don't seem to be too hard to come by. Then again, I haven't been looking for one to buy!
My dad was a telephone man. He told me that he hated to see those old trucks go because many of the phones he took out of people's houses had cockroaches living in them and it was nice to have those in the separate box.
There's one listed right here on The HAMB. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301727&highlight=telephone he lists his phone number, maybe he'll provide dimensions. But I think you just buy it.
I know where a mid-40's Ford pickup with a "utility bed" is. The bed is not sloped on the back, but still looks cool as hell. No way of knowing if Bell Telephone ever had this in its fleet, but some utility business must have. Incidentally, I have a pair of 1930/31 Model A roadster doors (for a future project) that has "Bell Telephone" barely visible on the outside door sides. I wonder what the 1930s Telephone vehicle looked like that wore those doors? Anybody got any clue?
The typical 30's telephone truck was just a 1/2 ton with painted doors. Some equipment was carried in the bed, but only supervisors had vehicles. Most line men and splicers either walked or rode horseback to the site. These pickups typically hauled small utility trailers to the site, unhooked them, chained them to the pole. The trailers were pre-loaded with all of the materials needed so the line men or splicer would only have to carry their tools. After the job was finished the line man or splicer would lock the trailer up again and report to the supervisor who would come get the trailer at a later date. I have one of these trailers and will eventually make it into a usable trailer to tow behind our Model A. Although it won't have the Model T spoke wheels on it, it will be mostly restored complete with Bell logos. After all, I am a phone man!
I had one for many years. It was on an old dodge frame that was made into a trailer. I used it for many years to haul tools to construction sites then later to haul camping gear. It was this one.
There's a guy on the FTE site, Irondragon, who had one he's putting on his extended cab '52 F-3. I saw it on the 'Bay some time ago and gave him a heads on it. http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?userid=20036&albumid=33261
I saw one at a classic oriented car lot in Pendleton Oregon a few years ago. I just glanced through my pictures and could not find one of it and unfortunately I don't recall the name of the car lot. It is the kind of place where something might sit for a few years.
Update: the trailer I spoke about above was finally brought home and posted some pics. Help me identify it if you can please, I remembered it saying "BELL CORPORATION" on it but now I can't find it... maybe it didn't have it after all. Here's the thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315061
I just picked up a 53 Chevy version of one of these trucks. What type of rear fenders were used? were they all the same on these beds? Between the time I made the deal, and I picked it up, someone "stole" the rear fenders, and the whole front clip...
There's a Ford on the 'Bay now. The rear fenders look pretty generic, maybe use a set of trailer fenders:
There's a hot rodded 1950 Ford telephone truck running around the San Diego area. Awesome truck, beautifully painted by SoCal Paintworks in Santee.
I had a 34 ford 1/2 ton in the mid 50's. It had belonged to a small phone co. in upstate NH. It was Bell green with a slantback utility body. I'm sure it was a factory built phone bed but it was entirely made of wood. I think we used it in the club shop's wood heater that winter.
I wasn't sure if each make used their own fenders, or if the box maker supplied them. The fuck that took them surely still has them. If not, I'll try to find something that will work.
Damn.. I remember seeing a bunch of those in a truck junkyard called Skinners Truck parts in Fayetteville back in 70-71. Huge ass yard..they still might have a few.
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